Greenwich's Shannon Colligan was recently named to the Connecticut Olympic Development Program (ODP) U-17 team.

Greenwich's Shannon Colligan was recently named to the Connecticut Olympic Development Program (ODP) U-17 team.

Photo: Contributed Photo

Colligan named to Region 1 ODP team

1 / 2

Back to Gallery

Shannon Colligan's soccer career has put a lot of miles on the family car. The Greenwich High School junior has fond memories of carpooling with teammates and her mother, trekking all over the state and region to tournaments.

But recently, with her selection to the Connecticut Olympic Development Program U-17 team in December, and last week's selection to the Region 1 ODP team, gas miles have been upgraded to sky miles.

"I'm really going to miss road trips with the team," Colligan said of playing with her premier team, Eastern CFC Cheetahs. "Me and my friend Ally, we've literally gone on every road trip for Eastern together. Then when I made ODP over the winter, practices were from 7-9 a.m. over an hour away and I remember driving in pitch black and getting up before dawn. I give all the credit to my parents. We've put more miles on the car for soccer than anything else."

Colligan, a two-sport varsity athlete as a sophomore who made the All-State soccer team last fall with the Cardinals, was one of four Connecticut players selected to represent the state in the Region 1 pool, which included 25 players from Maine to Virginia.

Last week she become one of only two athletes from the state to make the final team of 18 that will represent the region at Inter-Regional's, the country's national tournament, this November in Florida.

Currently, the youth soccer landscape breaks the nation into four regions, with Region 1 spanning the entire eastern seaboard.

"This has been an unbelievable experience," said Colligan, who was also a second-team All-FCIAC selection for Greenwich's lacrosse team that reached last spring's state final. "At this point I am going to take soccer as far as I can. I am focusing on college right now and hoping that making this team will get some top schools to give me looks. Being in the national conversation opens a lot of doors for me.

"I'm going to be shaking from the moment I start packing until the first game," Colligan said of anticipating this fall's event. "Every girl's dream is to be the Mia Hamm of the world. To get a tryout to maybe wear the USA jersey one day is unreal. I just can't believe it."

Her selection is all the more fitting considering she almost didn't even attend tryouts because she wasn't sure she was good enough.

"I almost didn't go to Region 1 camp," Colligan admitted. "In the end, I took the advice from dad saying to go. When I got to the camp I put in every inch of me. We were playing two or three games a day and every game was a tryout. Afterwards, I thought that was it. I thought Region 1 pool was as far as I could go. When we got the e-mail that I made the final team heading to Florida, I couldn't believe it. It's the best feeling in the world knowing I can play at that level, making an impact. All the hard work is paying off."

Colligan's high school coach, Danny Simpson, who is also a director at Eastern CFC, isn't surprised the girl he's coached since she was 10 years-old has made it this far.

He's known all along the forward possesses something special.

"She's very determined and this is a great achievement for her that shows her dedication to the sport," Simpson said. "She was born with natural talent and once she gets on the field she wants the ball all the time. When you get one of those players who want it, suddenly you've created a game-changing player. That's what she is. She can change the game with the smallest thing. With a pass or a shot. It's infectious. When she can do that it influences those around her."

Colligan set a school record for goals in a season last year, netting 20 times. Though her team reached the FCIAC semifinals, this year's squad is looking to make an even deeper run, and not just because Colligan has emerged as a star.

"The level of play coming back in every player is so tremendous that I don't have to carry the team at all," Colligan said. "I know my teammates are congratulatory of me, but as soon as the season starts it's about the team. We have high expectations for the upcoming season because we have such a strong senior class."

Simpson knows his star striker won't be able to just show up and play this year without teams gunning for her.

"Last year she went under the radar and it wasn't until FCIACs that people really took notice," said Simpson, an Englishman who has coached at Greenwich for six years and been a youth coach at Eastern for 15. "Now she has a target on her back and will be pushed. I think it will be great for her. When you get to the top of the ladder, which she is achieving, you see the difference between state and regional and national. I had the opportunity to coach at a national camp in March and saw the difference. Shannon has that ability because what they look for at the national level is creativity and ability to create. That is what she has."